So people have been talking about some offseason targets for the Celtics. The way I see it, all the complementary players are in place. What better options for a supporting cast than Paul Pierce, Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett? I'm confident that those guys, as your 2nd-4th best players, could be the pieces to win a title next season. The problem isn't getting the guys to support them but to acquire the guy for them to surround. That guy is Chris Paul.

I understand the concerns about the injuries. I realize he's a bigger contract than the very affordable and talented Rajon Rondo. But I've watched him enough to know he would be the difference maker in being able to win a title next year. While the current cast of characters will fall short again to the Heat.

Paul has brass balls, isn't afraid to take and make the big shot, or go toe-to-toe with the best players in the league. He's lead New Orleans to playoff appearances with David West as his second best player. David West is a good pop and pick shooter. He has nice range and is a good scorer. But he doesn't have the legacy that the Celtics' core has.

This is no knock on Rajon Rondo. He's a top 5 point guard in the league and has exceeded all of his expectations coming out of college. But when the Heat have the best small forward and best shooting guard in the league, you need the best point guard to match that elite level.

The important part would be to convince Paul to sign an extension and realize that he would be the reason people would come to Boston. He alone can extend the careers of KG, Ray and Paul and be the #1 guy on a team that wins a title.

Does this have realistic shot of happening? Probably not. But the "2012 World Champion Boston Celtics" has a nice ring to it. And it would be because of "NBA Finals MVP, Chris Paul."

48 Responses so far.

WOWWWWWWWWWWWWWW, If you think Rondo is the reason why Boston is sitting at home right now then you sir are definitely NOT! A True Boston Celtics Fan. This is SO stupid it should be illegal! Chris Paul!? WTF are you f#%&ing me!? I CANNOT believe this. RAJON RONDO WILL retire in Boston Green you idiot! You should seriously take this down. If there are ANY True CELTICS Fans then Im guessing you will see many many MORE Responses like this! Chris Paul over Rondo, and you call yourself a Fan!? Kiss my GREEN Ass!

Hey TB, I fixed your post b/c it had it checked for no comments and I thought you accidentally checked that. But after reading the first comment I'm thinking maybe you did that on purpose> Let me know if you want me to change it back.

While I wouldn't trade Rondo for CP3 personally, I 100% respect someone to be able to have that opinion, so I disagree with your comment Martinez that the author is not a "True Boston Celtics Fan." And it's pretty ignorant to call somebody out for having a different opinion on who's a better player. It's not like CP3 isn't a great player. But I'd only make that trade if Dwight Howard agreed to sign with us if we had Paul. Otherwise I pass.

Have you ever heard about the word freedom of speech? Or about the fact that people have different opinions? You seem to claim for justice but you alone erase every chance of it with your childish reply. Please come to your senses and make a conscious judgement.

We are talking about ways to improve the team and the dealing for a top player in the league as Chris Paul makes sense.

Call me a romantic, or an idealist...but I believe we can win next year with a good combination of young legs complementing the big 4.

But in any case, it is an interesting article and food for a lot of thought as they say.

TB, I will probably think about this idea while I'm teaching in the next 2 hours :)

I'm taking Rondo every day of the week, especially when you consider the contract and prior chemistry he's built here. There's something to be said about a guy who is groomed into a position as a rookie and won a title with the team that drafted him. No way I would do it, even if the opportunity showed itself, sorry I can't agree with this. Let's not forget Rondo in the '09 playoffs as well, single handedly dominated Rose and almost averaged a triple double against him. He's arguably the best in the league in his young 20's.

I think we need a solid center and some bench players who know how to work together and hold a lead (and play defense) and we'll be fine for next year. You saw what happened when we shook up our starting line up this year didnt you? And that was just Perk, imagine what would transpire if we took the proverbial engine out of our car and replaced it.

I can understand wanting Paul, but the only thing he does better than RR that stands out is shoot(FT's included). I honestly doubt that he would have been much of a difference maker in this series or in any series. Especially when you had the bench playing at the level that they did, an unhealthy center and inconsistancy from your starters. Also with the level that DWade and James played in that particular series. They combined for at least 60pts in 4 out of 5 games.

"But when the Heat have the best small forward and best shooting guard in the league, you need the best point guard to match that elite level". As far as this comment, wouldn't you need your SG and SF or at least two other players to counter their play, on both ends of the court? And I'm not saying match what they did, but at least come close.

I would personally like to see more proof that he would make much of a difference, besides he "has brass balls, isn't afraid to take and make the big shot, or go toe-to-toe with the best players in the league", because again the only thing that stands out is "being afraid to take the big shot". I hate that RR's shooting is very questionable, but I don't think that would be a reason to get rid of him.

One player wouldn't have made any difference in the series with the Heat in this past series or any future series. You'd need to make huge changes in the bench, at the center position, and you'd need your core players playing with more consistancy.

I was a little all over the place here, but I hope it makes sense.

PS: I can understand being pissed off, because my homerism for RR made me want to find tb and beat him, Lol j/k. But seriously C'mon Man!!! A lot of C's fans will be upset by this because it makes you question a couple parts of RR's game, even though you love him. But I still disagree with you tb. I say keep RR, get a better bench, and center, and lower, PP's KG's and RA's minutes through out the reg season, so they wont be so worn out in the post season.

Some of you all are crazy. I'm a Celtic fan and Rajon is my favorite player, but I'd trade him for Chris Paul, Derrick Rose, and probably Deron Williams. Maybe not Williams because he has problems with coaches, but yeah for Chris Paul that would be great.

Well, if you want to post such a dumb post at least read the feedback...or you shouldn't have a blog. Rondo is a Celtic for life, the whole entire team loves him. Before every game everyone said the Celtics go as Rondo goes, so if we dont have Rondo i doubt we will even make it to the playoffs. KG would kill Danny Ainge, Pierce would be more pissed then after they traded Perk, and Ray i dont think would be to happy about it either. So think about it before you post it on a website, esp. a Celtics one. And i about bet if you posted this on a Hornets blog people wouldnt be too happy about it either...DUMBASS!!!

Rajon Rondo is very overrated. He's an enormous offensive liability in half-court sets. In 2008 when the Celtics won it all, the greatness of the Big 3 were able to mask his many deficiencies. Now that they've slowed down, he hasn't been able to catapult himself into being "that guy," able to take over a game and win a series.

Chris Paul is a better player than Rajon Rondo. I think most would agree about that. Is he a better fit than Rajon on the Celtics. Probably not but who knows. Either way the chances of this happening are about 1%. Ballsy post TB. I like it.

I'm all over this and posted to this effect already. send rondo and baby to NO for Paul and West. Add picks and or other players if you have to. Why? Because with chris paul at the point teams won't be able to play off of him like they do with rondo. the assists are about the same and the steals are about the same but paul gives you shooting and scoring that rondo never will. David West once he recovers give you a post player that we don't have. KG is not , never has been and never will play in the post.

You guys are clearly missing the point. This is a great idea. Do you know who Chris Paul is best friends with? DWIGHT HOWARD. So you trade Rondo and Big Baby + The Clippers #1 Pick for Chris Paul. Chris Paul is the BEST Point Guard in the League. He can shoot. Rondo Can't. I love Rondo, but until he gets a jump shot and decides to be more consistent, Chris Paul wins this matchup every time. In the Playoffs CP3 averaged more points, assists, rebounds, steals, fg%, ft%, 3pt% and played more minutes than rondo in the playoffs. (Not to mention he almost single handedly beat the lakers with Aaron Gray at Center). So i don't want to hear it. EVERY STATISTICAL CATEGORY CP3 is better. If you want to be relevant in the future, you get chris paul, and then sign Howard in 2012 when you will only have 2 players under contract (Pierce and CPaul/Rondo)

I believe this is a great idea.. Don't get me wrong guys I love Rondo, but like I've been reading this comments everyone has a good valid point.. HE CANT SHOOT, CP3 can shoot and I believe he would be a great player for this Celtics roster. One person commented saying if we were to trade for Paul he might bring Dwight to Boston.., that sounds good but its extremely unlikely. Dwight has already expressed interest in Los Angeles.

I would trade Rondo in a heartbeat. I think he is way overrated. The media pumps him up like he is GOD. He can't shoot a lick and says he has worked on it in the off-season...yeah right. Also he seems to be afraid at times to get fouled because he make a FT. Lets face it he not the reason why the Celtics are sitting at home, the Celtics got beat by a better team and I hate to admit that. Also his on the ball D is awful, guys go around him because he tries to cheat and go for the steal. He only got steals when he got in the passing lanes. The bigs got into foul trouble because of that.

LOL!!!WOW!!i love how people got offended by the idea of trading rondo!!!i love rondo and all, but CP3 is an amzing point guard!and as celtics fan, i would love to have cp3 on my team!because the nba is a business and not a place to put your emotions in front of your judgment! if you wanna win and be the best, you have to be able to make sacrifices in order to make your team better!!!

Get a healthy shaq get a healthy chance... Traded perk and suddenly #1 turned to #3 and it would have continued downwards had there been more season left. Obviously shaq has limped out the building so a fantasy including an Irish Dwight Howard? I'll drink to that

CP3 is an amazing player but if u think Rajon Rondo is the reason why we dint make it to the finals then u must be really dumb.this shows u dont know nytng bout the celtics,dont know anythinng bout basketball infact.The only thing we need in my opinion is a really good center and thats it.we just need our other players(excluding KG,PIERCE,RAY ALLEN AND RAJON RONDO,THE BIG FOUR)to fit in and adapt to our style of play.we need height and that was the reason i was against the kendrick perkins trade.i believe if we had kendrick perkins we would have made it to the finals and maybe even gotten our 19th nba title.so dont just sit there and say shit like we need CP3 because we really dont.and if you are worried about big shots being made,dont you think ray allen and paul pierce are two of the best guys in the nba that can make the big shots? rajon rondo has contributed alot to our team,u should go watch some of the games this season and what he did for the team

While I agree it would be a great upgrade, not taking anything from Rondo, I disagree that it can be done. The C's are very linter with the cap this year and he will be looking for close to a max deal. With the salaries the C's have committed already Rondo is the best combination of well above average talent/below market salary. I like the fact you are thinking out of the box a little bit but I think reality needs to cone into play before infuriating the loyal fanbase of the Celtics!

I take Rondo over CP3 any day of the week hands down, no question. I'm sorry but CP3 is a great PG but he's been around longer than Rondo and has more experience. Rondo looked like the MVP of the league until Perk was traded and I suspect he will be back to that form again next year. Don't count out #9 just because he had a poor 2nd half of the season and post season. He had some depression to deal with but time heals all wounds and he will be back sharp and focused next season. Plus who else is tougher? dude nearly breaks his arm and still plays. CP3 is injured every other month it seems. GO RONDO!

Chris Paul for Rajon in a heartbeat! Deron Williams also! I love Rondo, but currently defenses play him for the drive/dish. Paul and Williams have to be defended for the drive/dish, the pull-up jumper and the three. They stretch the court and need to be defended all the time, defenses can't cheat off of them.

Got a message to anyone who thinks they own the rules on "Who's a Celtics fan". If you base that on not using key players as trade bait to get new people then Danny Ainge is "not a Celtics fan" cause he traded Perk - don't be fucking ridiculous. I disagreed with the Perk trade but let's not get stupid about what it means to be a fan- that's idiocy. Anyone who wants the Celts to win championships is a fan and how they do it is what we can all talk about.

chris paul has a year's worth of experience over rajon rondo, and the only thing he is better at than rondo is shooting? personally i think rondo is faster in some aspects and could probably get more steals than chris paul (e.g. nba finals game 6?) i also think rondo's bonding with the team is as strong as any bond on the team, while paul coming over would mean they'd have to start the bonding over. rondo is still young and only going to get better. if there's a position that you want to fill, center is definitely where you should be looking (with the loss of perkins). i can definitely see avery bradley (hopefully) getting some minutes this season (if he's following a strong preseason). The center is the weakest point of the celtics roster and if you want to better the team, you start with the weakest point.

In this shitty economy, I'm sure the Hornets would be willing to strike a deal with an eastern conference team. Let that team be us, the Boston Celtics. I loved seeing CP3 make a fool out of Kobe when the Black Mamba asked to take the assignment of guarding him. Cp3 is an elite pg that can shoot, and wouldn't be such a liabilty at the free throw line either. Make a good trade this offseason, or perish at the hands of the Heat again.

If you think that Rajon Rondo is the reason why Boston is at home eating wheaties and playing connect four, then you have to go back to school.

I play professional BasketBall, and I analyze games.

I totally agree with you that bringing Chris Paul to the Celtics would change things immediately but you have to understand that Boston is a role team. Rajon Rondo is fully capable of putting up 20-20-10 games on ANY given night, and so is Chris Paul, but who would do it more effecntily... that leans heavily to Rondo.

Chris Paul is the best OFFENSIVE point gaud in the leauge, and it would be great to have another offensive person on the team other than Ray, Paul and KG (at times). But why another offensive player when you can get the BEST defensive guard who isnt scared to guard LeBron, D-Wade, Kobe... hell he can guard Dwight Howard if he has to.

That said, Rajon Rondo belongs in Boston. He IS boston. He IS the reason we got so far. He is like the gas to car. Chris Paul would be nice but you cant build a team around him. You can do that with Rondo and thats why he is staying in Boston

Andy I didn't want comments because I'm sick of the negative bullshit about me not being a "real fan" because I'd prefer Paul over Rondo.

This article wasn't even supposed to be about comparing the two of them yet I knew it'd transition into it. I specifically mention Rondo as a "top 5 point guard" in the league and having exceeded all his expectations coming out of college.

My point was that because of how elite James and Wade are, the Celtics need the best point guard in the game, not the 5th best. They need Chris Paul.

It's pretty obvious that whoever posted this knows ABSOLUTELY NOTHING about the game of basketball. You might as well go ahead and say what you're thinking. Rondo cant score, Rondo cant shoot. Yeah, just remember that ALL the shit thats said about him is shot down when you see his 2010-2011 NBA Playoff Stats. 14 PPG, 5.4 RPG, and 9.6 APG. Chris Paul is a SUPERSTAR and honestly thats not what the Fans, Doc, Danny Ainge, hell Kobe Bryant want Rondo to be right now! Because IF he IS then what happens to Paul? What happens to Ray? What happens to Kevin? So while some of you "Fans" would agree with trade, I'll just ask ONE Question (with Kendrick Perkins in mind) Would you really like to see DANNY AINGE make another IDIOTIC trade?

matinezfor the last time that trade was not a bad one. Perkins was practically useless on the offensive end and he was injury prone and to top it all of he did not want to sign a contract extension so it was better we trade him and get something better then just letting him go and become a free agent.back onto the topic i love rondo but i think that if CP3 could bring Dwight over we would really be the best team in the entire NBA. if Cp3 was here that might give just give us Dwight Howard instead of him going over to LA or new jersey. also danny Aige is a great manager he brought the big three and a championship and developed a young star out of rondo so i think we can all trust him

Many blogs and discussions on the web around the same subject, TB. It seems you were completely right in introducing Paul as a Green Target and I believe it is completely right and advisable to do so. I would still keep Rondo, but if we stick to the plan of keeping the big 4 together.

Thanks Bohemian. Watching the Celtics bow out to Miami I've never been more confident about this being the right move, despite what some of the people here have stated.

He is the elite-level, number one guy the Celtics NEED right now. The rest of the core would suffice as guys 2-4 (Pierce, Allen, Garnett). I am extremely confident that team would win the 2012 NBA championship, with a couple other roster tweaks (another big man for when Jermaine is injured).